This story will eventually get along to news of a potential original film from Robert Rodriguez but first of all, we need to tidy up a lot of loose ends regarding his ever mounting pile of in-the-works sequels. He’s a franchisomaniac.

All of this info comes from the fact that a number of online press were last week invited down to the set of Predators and they duly squeezed Rodriguez for all they could. We’ll take it one franchise at a time.

Here’s the man on future Machete movies:

We always talked about making him a franchise character. Danny and I talked about it in ‘94…maybe Desperado that’s when I first mentioned the Machete character. So imagine that…he’s been bugging me since ‘94.

Add into the mix a bit of light, hype-building and pot-stirring by Machete himself, Danny Trejo:

Sin City 2 has been a project sitting on the horizon for several years. It has started to seem like one of those things that co-director Robert Rodriguez likes to keep on the table because he knows it gets fan attention, while not necessarily being a film he really plans to make.

Now producer Stephen L’Heureux says that Sin City 2 will go into production at the end of 2010, and that Frank Miller will follow it with a film version of Hard Boiled, the uber-detailed and hyper-violent comic written by Miller and drawn by Geoff Darrow. Read More »

I think most everyone has given up the idea of a Sin City sequel, especially after Frank Miller‘s The Spirit tainted the memory of the original Robert Rodriguez co-directed comic book adaptation. Everyone involved with the original 2005 film has been talking up a sequel for the last four years. Rodrgieuz admitted in March that he’s gotten so use to telling people that “right around the corner, because that’s what everybody wants to hear” but that “It might be a long corner.”

To promote the Blu-ray release, Rodriguez has been doing press, and now claims that he is beginning talks with his creative team and could begin filming as early as next year. The filmmaker tells IGN that “next week we’re going to talk about it some more and get a timing on when we’d be doing it. But there’s a lot of people who are interested in it. … We are definitely going to do that one.”

But this isn’t the first time Rodriguez has put a date on record. Last year Rodriguez said that production could begin by April 2009.

In January, it was rumored that 20th Century Fox was developing a Predator reboot titled Predators with Robert Rodriguez and Troublemaker Studios in the producers chair. Rodriguez confirmed the rumors at a news conference today at Troublemarker Studios for the long-awaited reform of the Texas film incentive program.

A couple weeks ago IESB reported that The Weinstein Co had waited too long and lost the rights to a Sin City sequel. We never reported the story because Entertainment Weekly was quick to debunk the reports, quoting Weinstein Co. lawyer Bert Fields as saying: “TWC’s rights to produce sequels to Sin City remain intact as they always have been. Any suggestion to the contrary is complete hogwash.” But it now appears the intitial reports might have been true after all.

Robert Rodriguez has been chatting it up at SXSW and CinemaBlend has a few details direct from the filmmaker’s mouth. First off, Robert says that he always tells people that Sin City 2 is “right around the corner, because that’s what everybody wants to hear” but admits that “It might be a long corner.” I’m pretty convinced that a sequel won’t happen until Miller has no other film options, and is forced to return to the franchise.

Robert went on to insist that the long talked about feature length version of Machete will happen, and that he’s “got the script” and is “ready to go”. I’ll believe it when I see it.

The most interesting quote to leave Rodriguez’s mouth was in regards to his next project Neveracker, the sci-fi action film that was announced in February — “I used to say it was, it’s kind of like Blade Runner, but that was Blade Walker. This is Blade Runner.” Wow, just Wow. I’m pretty sure he didn’t intend to slam Blade Runner, but those are strong words. If this film comes out and is another Spy Kids, he’ll also be eating them.

I have fond memories of Sin City. A wildly stylish, over-the-top thrill ride, Sin City prooved that some graphic novels are so tailored to fit the big screen that they can make for great film adaptations, losing almost nothing in the process. Talks of a sequel started up soon after the $40-million-budgeted film made almost double that amount domestically, but with Miller occupied with The Spirit and Rodriguez off on his own adventures, the possibility seemed to fade out of sight. Until now.

IGN recently confirmed with Frank Miller that plans for the film are fully underway. “Sin City 2 is written…It’s mainly a matter of working out the details of the production. I’m hoping to do it with Robert Rodriguez again in the same circumstances that we did the first one, and we could be shooting as soon as April.” Those who followed the first film’s production will know that Miller was heavily involved in the direction of the film (Rodriguez chose to resign from the Director’s Guild, so that Miller could officially be credited as such. Miller was also a producer for the film). On Friday, IESB reported that Rosario Dawson corroborated Miller’s story, and that Dawson would be reprising her role as Gail.

Although the story hasn’t officially reported, Miller has said that the new film will be based on A Dame To Kill For (a prequel to The Hard Goodbye), and will feature stories surrounding Blue Eyes and the Old Town Girls. There will also be and an original story featuring Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba, in the first film). While I am increasingly apprehensive of Miller’s directorial debut in The Spirit, I still think that Miller and Rodriguez could probably make a great team, and I remain excited for a Sin City sequel. How about you guys?

Update: According to Superherohype, Mickey Rourke, who played Marv in the first film, is currently not interested in starring in the sequel:

No, I’m not interested in that right now. That’s not a reality right now. It’s pissing in the wind. There’s different factions going different directions there. I don’t know. That’s three hours of make up and I’m claustrophobic, so I’m going to have to work something out.

With Sin City 2 in some kind of delayed limbo — some people speculate that the film is stuck in the same place that Captain Jack found himself at the beginning of Pirates 3. So I’m not exactly sure how credible this is, but Frank Miller has told MTV that he is also planning to film Sin City 3.

The story would concentrate on Miller’s “Hell and Back”, about a hallucinating artist named Wallace (a part rumored to be written for Johnny Depp). As for Sin City 2, Miller says “There was just some problems above us that I don’t understand… that I don’t really want to understand.” Wonder what that means. Wonder if this has anything to do with the failure of Grindhouse…

“Robert and I have a script and we’re all raring to go. We’re aching to get started,” Miller said. “I want to work with that crew againâ€¦that wonderful cast.”

Smokin’ Aces director Joe Carnahan has seen the early teaser trailer for Sin City 2. If it’s anything like the first movie, than Robert has done a couple full green screen tests using real actors. He might even have a full scene shot and edited.

“Robert Rodriguez stopped by the office yesterday and showed me what may become the teaser for ‘SIN CITY 2’ and HOLY SH*T is it something. I don’t want to let any cats out of any bags, so all I can say is there’s not a hetero male moviegoer alive that’s not going to deeply DIG that spot,” Carnahan wrote on his blog. “Remember, he’s doing ‘A Dame To Kill For’ and brother has he got it. That guy’s enthusiasm for filmmaking is infectious too. A solid bloke and a good soul.”

Sin City 2 might or might not go into production next month. We can’t wait.

A new LA Times article on Frank Miller has revealed a few interesting news tidbits:

Miller has already interviewed actors for his big screen adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit. One of the actors is a “notable Sin City star.” Any guesses on which star this could be? Filming will start this year.

Miller had a meeting with Superman director Richard Donner. I wonder if this was just a meet and greet or a meeting over a possible future Miller adaptation? Or may-be even a new project based on an original Miller screenplay?